Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-22
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
In spite of the advances made in agriculture, many people around the world still go hungry.
Why is this the case?
What can be done about this problem?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
Food is a fundamental requirement of human beings, and most of it is produced through agriculture. With the advancement of technology, we can see developments in agriculture worldwide. However, millions of people around the world still go hungry. This mainly causes poverty, unequal distribution, political instability, and natural disasters. Therefore, we need to take necessary actions to reduce this issue.
One major problem for the hungry is poverty. Food supplements can be sufficient; however, if the family income is lower than the cost of food. In fact, people miss meals. In addition, some countries face wars, political issues, and natural disasters, which can destroy crops. Another problem is the unequal distribution. Although some areas have more than enough food, remaining faces food shortages.
To overcome these problems, we need to take necessary actions. Especially, the government should plan the way food moves from farmers to consumers, and they need to plan how to work with sudden difficulties such as floods and droughts, etc. Further, the government should provide modern technology knowledge and financial support to poor farmers to increase their crop yields and take action for the equal distribution of yields around the country.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response attempts to address both parts of the prompt by identifying causes of hunger, such as poverty, political issues, and natural disasters, and suggesting solutions like government intervention and agricultural support. However, the ideas are underdeveloped and lack sufficient supporting examples. Furthermore, the length requirement has not been met as the response contains only 194 words, falling significantly short of the 250-word minimum. This severely impacts the overall development of the task. Because the response is under-length, it can only be awarded a Band 5.0 for Task Achievement, reflecting the limited and partially developed nature of the content.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The text exhibits some overall organisation, with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing causes and solutions, and a brief conclusion. However, paragraphing is somewhat basic and the flow between ideas is occasionally abrupt. Cohesive devices are used, but they are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as starting multiple sentences with 'In addition' or 'Another problem'. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of extended progression limits the overall coherence. Overall, the structural arrangement aligns best with the Band 6 descriptors, as the text is coherent overall despite some faults in cohesion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'fundamental requirement', 'advancement of technology', 'unequal distribution', and 'crop yields'. There are some awkward phrasings and word choice errors, such as 'This mainly causes poverty' (where 'is mainly caused by' was likely intended) and 'remaining faces food shortages'. While the student attempts some less common vocabulary, inaccuracies are noticeable. Spelling and word choice errors do not heavily impede communication, placing the lexical performance solidly at a Band 6.0 level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response includes a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety. For example, the student uses concessive or conditional structures like 'if the family income is lower than the cost of food' and 'although some areas have more than enough food'. However, there are notable grammatical errors and fragment issues, such as the sentence fragment 'Food supplements can be sufficient; however, if the family income is lower than the cost of food.' Punctuation and grammatical slips occur, but they rarely impede overall communication, supporting a Band 6.0 rating.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.